A red Herring Without Mustard

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Flavia's discovery of an old Gypsy woman who's been attacked in her wagon sends the girl off on an investigation that will reveal more of Buckshaw's secrets as well as new information about Harriet, the mother Flavia never knew.

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Murder in 1950s England submitted by Jen Chapin-Smith on July 13, 2013, 11:34pm As this series of mysteries for young readers, author Alan Bradley brings us the further adventures of Flavia de Luce, a young genius living with her father and two older sisters in the fictional English town of Bishop's Lacey in the 1950s. The girls' mother had died, leaving their father too sad to handle raising or even much educating his children, who are left to their own devices. Flavia has decided to teach herself chemistry and she particularly enjoys making poisons.

I very much appreciated having a young female character demonstrate so much intelligence and bravery, something I find lacking in many novels for children. Readers should note, however, that as it is set in the 1950s, the Flavia series does demonstrate the prejudices of the era, including sexism and xenophobia. In this novel, Flavia meets with a Gypsy family (the name given to the Romany people by Europeans who mistakenly believed the nomadic people originally came from Egypt). The family endures much of the bigotry that English people of the time directed at them.

Unique submitted by elsbetherin on August 20, 2015, 6:36pm This series of book is quiet unique. The young girl who is the main character is so full of flare and fire that it is hard not to fall in love with her and her unique point of view

Enjoyable, if curiously suspended submitted by terpsichore17 on June 22, 2017, 9:01am Enjoyable as ever - I particularly enjoyed the abandoned water feature and lab-cooked delicacies - though mild restlessness is starting to set in where the larger story is concerned: Flavia can't really stay 11 forever, nor can Buckshaw stay forever on the edge between solvency and bankruptcy.